Stalag Luft VI St. Wendel
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Stalag Luft VI, p. 1 Stalag Luft VI St. Wendel August - September 1944 collected by Roland Geiger Alsfassener Straße 17, 66606 St. Wendel, Germany Tel. 06851-3166, [email protected] and some of those who had been here: John H. Anderson John D. Bacon Robert Cash Martin C. Chavez Ray E. Cook Terry Dyer (+) Leeland T. Engelhorn Jack D. Fischer Karl Haeuser Earl Hansen (+) Charles W. Hartney John P. Harper Otha B. Huckaby James A. Kelley Paul L. Kelly Walter J. Luke James D. Myers Winfried Riemer Stalag Luft VI, p. 2 Editorial Five years ago I participated in publishing a book about the occupation of St. Wendel County, State of Saarland, Germany, by Patton's Third Army, XX Corps, 10 th Armored and 80 th Infantry Division. Every village of the county was described there, its situation in the war and finally the circumstances of its occupation. There was something special on the village of Bubach because in April 1944 a B-17 had belly-landed on a hill outside town. And the author of the Bubach article found a photo of this plane and it was published in the book. My friend Klaus Zimmer from St. Ingbert-Hassel started research about this plane and the circumstances of its 'landing'. He found the 92 nd Bomb Group and finally located five members of the former crew and the ME-109 pilot who was credited with the kill. In April 1996 two members - tail gunner Blaylock and ball turret gunner McKenzie - came to St. Wendel county for a special reunion in Germany - a really big event for both Americans and Germans. This also started my research on this subject when we found that more than 10 planes of different nations crashed in our county in Second World War. Other crew members of other planes came and also members of other units, f.e. of the 10 th Armored Division. Finally - about two years ago - I found a very short note in a book about military units in German towns saying that there was a Stalag Luft VI at. St. Wendel, my hometown. But whom to ask about his? There was no Internet access at that time. But I was given name and phone number of Leonard Rose, chairman of the Stalag-Luft-IV Historical Association. So I rang the phone and called him. He was very helpful. Yes, he told me, he knew of St. Wendel and he had a list of several veterans who were at St. Wendel in the war. Some of them had visited the town later but there was no evidence of a camp and no one seemed to dare to remember it. Well, people didn't dare to remember there was nothing to remember. The flak area was a forbidden or secret zone. No civilian was allowed to enter and no one knew what was going on there. I finally located three Germans in St. Wendel and talked to them. They had their basic training in the flak area but in 1939 and then were commanded somewhere else (one of them told me his first contact to American flyers was in late 1943 in Schweinfurt when he was sitting at the other end of a 8.8-AA-gun). That was the closest information I could get. Everyone knew there was a flak position and there had been barracks. But that's all. No one ever heard of the camp. Later I found a document written after the war listing all the different camps at or near St. Wendel, most of them work camps for Russian or French POWs. This document - courtesy of Michael Landau, Niederlinxweiler - states there was a camp in the flak area for British officers coming from the East, staying for about six weeks and then going back the east. And there was no name list of the prisoners. That's it. Finally: this is not my end of work but a summary or better documentation of all the letters you wrote to me during the last two years to tell you that I did not forget you. Thank you so much for your help. Roland Geiger Stalag Luft VI, p. 3 my questionnaire Please, give your name, rank, bomb group and squadron, your position in the plane, maybe name of the pilot and nickname of the plane or the tailnumber 1. Where did they shot your plane down: date and place 2. Where did they take you after capture 3. How did you get to St. Wendel - by train, truck, per pedes 4. How did you get to the camp after reaching the town, how far away was it from the town, could you see the town itself? 5. Note: St. Wendel has a big church right in the middle which is very characteristic for the town. Outside the town there is a big monastry on top of a hill overlooking the countryside (Missionshaus). During the war it was occupied by SS-troops for training. The town had two hospitals: one in the outskirts (civilian), the other one in the St. Wendel barrack at the road to Tholey. Can you remember something of this? 6. How long had you been in the camp? 7. How many POWs were there 8. Only US or other nationalities 9. What kind of buildings were you in and how building were there; how was the camp itself secured 10. Where did you go after leaving St. Wendel, how did you leave 11. Do you remember something special during your stay or incidents in or outside the camp 12. Have you ever been in St. Wendel after the war and when 13. Are there any documents you have about your stay in St. Wendel, maybe scetches, drawings or photos you could sent me a copy of (maybe only a xerox copy) Thank you very much for your help. Stalag Luft VI, p. 4 John H. Anderson P.O. Box 13753 Mexico Beach, FL 32410-3753 Dear Mr. Geiger, Your letter to Leonard Rose was read at a reunion of the Stalag Luft IV American Ex- POWs held in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, September 16, 1997. Leonard said that he had given your letter to Charles Hartney of Wichita Falls, Texas, who was to write an answer. Since I was one of the first contingent of POWs to arrive at St. Wendel I thought I would also write and tell you a bit about the camp as I remember it. I was there from August 16 to September 5, 1944 which was only a total of 20 days. I kept a diary and I thought you might be interested in reading what I wrote while I was at St. Wendel. In 1991 my crew had their first reunion for which I wrote up our experiences during training and our flying missions in Europe. When we had another reunion in 1994 I did the same for the days we spent as POWs. I gave copies to each member of my crew and each of my children. This year two of my crew members have died. Three others had passed away earlier. Thus not many people have read of my personal thoughts and reactions to events mainly beyond my control. In my case, I was a radio operator on a B-17 assigned to the 388th Bomb Group, 561st Squadron, stationed at Knettishall, England. My crew and I were shot down on our 24th mission over Berlin on August 6, 1944. After one night in a jail in Berlin I was sent by train to Frankfurt the next day. I stayed a while at Oberursel, just north of Frankfurt, for interrogation and then took a train to Dulag Luft at Wetzlar on August 10. On the 14th a group of close to 100 men left Wetzlar on a train and went back to Frankfurt where we witnessed an American bombing raid. We arrived at St. Wendel on the 16th and marched through town to get to the camp. The camp was not yet completed. We were placed in a large garage-like building just outside the camp. The Germans opened all the canned goods we had so we had to eat the food immediately. My diary was kept on a sheet of paper which I hid in the binding of the New Testament I had with me. I will give you a summary of what I wrote: August 17 Finished up Red Cross food. Helped unload beds from truck. The weather is rather hot. Bread for breakfast, soup for lunch and bread for supper. 18 Three enlisted men of my crew arrived and joined two of us in camp. Helped them eat their parcels. It is good to have friends. Things could be worse. 19 Didn't do much all day long. The soup for lunch and supper was quite poor. Washed and shaved. Washed clothes. Need a haircut. A lot of extra time on my hands. Camp going better. New latrine tomorrow. 20, Sunday Stalag Luft VI, p. 5 Up at 6:30. Was on detail making beds. Missed part of church service. Had better dinner. Potatoes in soup. A little more soup for supper. 21 Up at 6:00. Read New Testament some more. Had fair lunch. Played cards. After dinner I helped peel potatoes. Ate a couple of raw potatoes and felt better. 22 Worked outside of camp shoveling dirt into a hole. Feld weak. Wrote letter home. Slept a little while. Quite hot. Took a cold water bath. Food fair. Cabbage in soup. Played cards.